Aviation and Admiralty
tort litigation arises from the Government's varied activities in the operation
of the air traffic control system, the regulation of air commerce, weather services,
aeronautical charting, and the government's own civil and military aircraft.
Numerous cases also arise from the extensive flight activities of private, business,
and military aircraft. Cases have ranged from the Korean Air/Guam crash to
the Cavalese cable‑car accident. The office=s admiralty practice is diverse,
with cases ranging from oil spills, ship collisions and groundings, to cargo
damage cases, damaged sea grass beds, search and rescue, and injured seaman
and shore worker cases.
Examples
of our practice
Admiralty
cases
Examples of admiralty cases include the dramatic oil spill
of the EXXON VALDEZ Alaska, the grounding of the QE II off
Cape Cod, the unsuccessful rescue of the passengers on the MORNING
DEW and the Zuanich ship mortgage foreclosure cases. When the EXXON VALDEZ
lost over one million gallons of oil in Prince William
sound in 1989, the Civil Division joined with the Environment and
Natural Resources Division and various criminal prosecuting offices to recover
over $1 billion in damages and fines. As a result of the incident, Congress
enacted the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, under which the Civil Division has since
been involved in recovery of clean‑up costs for several large pollution incidents.
The QE II litigation addressed the responsibilities of the
government when it charts
United States
navigable waters, the obligations of ship captains who operate vessels in those
waters, and whether on‑board businesses can recover for consequential losses
arising from down‑time for repairs. The MORNING DEW, which was featured on
the news show "20/20," implicated the Search and Rescue mission of the Coast
Guard. Issues included the duties and capabilities of the Coast Guard in search
and rescue activities, the effect of hypothermia on potential survivors and
wrongful death damages. The Zuanich cases involved mortgages on tuna
fishing boats and other collateral property brought in San
Diego, American Samoa, Guam, and New Zealand, wherein the U.S. recovered approximately
$28.7 million.
Aviation
cases
From dramatic accidents such as the Space Shuttle COLUMBIA
and Friendly Fire incidents to mass disasters such as the crash of Korean Airlines
Flight 801, killing 228 of the 254 passengers and crew aboard, aviation litigation
specialists are regularly involved in protecting the national security interests
of the government. Aviation attorneys defend federal employees whose acts of
negligence are alleged to cause personal injury, wrongful death and property
damage in aviation torts. In addition to these labor-intensive cases, the staff
handles a significant number of cases arising from the activities of general
aviation aircraft. Legal issues such as privileges and immunities provide unique
challenges in addition to handling this exciting area of tort practice.
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